The Holy Trinity in Christianity

The Holy Trinity in Christianity: Hub Introduction/Rules

This hub is NOT meant to act as a platform for evangilization, it is simply a platform for education.

This hub is NOT meant to espouse any particular denomination of Christianity, in fact, interdenominational dialogue is encouraged.

This hub is NOT a place to demean other religions, for I firmly believe ALL religions point to some form of ultimate truth. We simply have a difference of opinion on what form said truth assumes.

NO hateful or vindictive comments will be accepted. Please be courteous and respectful of all opinions.

The Holy Trinity is one of the most beautiful yet all too often misunderstood conceptions of Christianity. Indeed, trying to fully understand the wonders of God, including conceiving completely the notion of the Holy Trinity, would be a less than fruitful endeavor, for only God himself knows his true purposes. Nevertheless, it is vital that Christian believers come to a fuller understanding of Trinitarian Theology, for such an understanding will illuminate many beautiful realities present in the Christian tradition. This hub is simply one believer's humble effort to immerse himself in this journey of discussion and discovery.

God's Wondrous Creation | Source

The Holy Trinity- Three Persons, One God

God is great! Look around you.....all you see, every flowing stream, flowering meadow, scintillating sunset.....it is all God's majestic work. It is all a part of his wondrous act of Creation, an act by which he, our God, breathed into our very being, giving us life in his image. When we ponder God's act of Creation, we often get an image of a single, powerful being.....a being who is omnipotent and all-knowing, a being who is atemportal, and a being who is immeasurably powerful. Indeed, our conceptions are accurate! God is a Supreme Being. He is Alpha and Omega. Yet, how do we reconcile such an understanding of a single, ever-present God with an understanding of Trinity? It would seem implausible if not downright impossible.....

Before proceeding, it is important to note.....Christianity is indeed a monotheistic religion.....despite the claims of those who would which to equate a notion of the Holy Trinity with a form of Polytheism, namely a belief in three separate Gods. However, it is not readily apparent how this is so.....and hence, this section's primary point: How can one God be three Persons and still remain only one God?

To begin.....set aside all your conceptions of time and space. Our human, bounded notions of such concepts are not applicable to God, for he exists outside of such ideas. God is both atemporal and aspatial. Phrased technically, an Infinite Qualitative Difference exists between God and Man, and as such, he cannot be bound up or parced out according to our human conceptions of time and space. It simply isn't possible. He is just too awesome, too majestic, too wondrous!

This being said, a few key concepts will help illuminate how such a conception of God as Trinitarian might be possible, without violating the bounds of Monotheism. The ancient Greeks developed a concept known as Substance Theory. This idea is quite difficult to explain; however, an analogy might serve us well here. Take a piece of firewood. Say it is burned, and transitions into ash. Does our ash replace our firewood? According to Substance Theory, it does not; rather, a certain substance remains unchanged despite this transition. As such, our firewood and our ash are both of one substance, a substance which exists outside of both spatial and temporal constraints. Another word, which can be used in approximately the same context, is Ousia. Ousia tends to denote some 'substance' or 'essence', which is immutable and perpetually has a sense of 'being' or existence.

Another important term is Hypostasis, which simply refers to the existence of a particular thing. Said particulars may well remain part of a broader being or Ousia; however, each is unique. These hypostases each retain the attributes of the one Ousia of which they are a part.

Now, turning to the Holy Trinity more specifically. God- Alpha and Omega- Beginning and End- is one immeasurable, inseparable Ousia. He is all-powerful and all-knowing. Within this Ousia, three Persons exist, three hypostases- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- each of which retains the omnipotence of the one Ousia. The Father, Son, and Spirit are not each other; yet, the Father, Son, and Spirit.....each is God in all his Glory. Each exists in relation to the other. In other words, the Father's 'fatherhood' exists in relation to the Son and the Son's 'sonship' exists in relation to the Father. The Spirit's 'spiritness' exists in communion with Father and Son. Yet, each is fully and wholly God.....and God is great indeed!

The Shield of the Trinity | Source

Prayer of the Month

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can;and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful worldas it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things rightif I surrender to His Will;That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with HimForever in the next.Amen.

Comments

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sending

Jerry Lynn Hayes Sr

4 years agofrom Texas City, Texas

Thank you aacciaio for a well written article on the Trinity. I am a Modalist bishop, so, of course we have a different view the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I think you would enjoy reviewing a recent article I have written at: https://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/Jesus-Is-...

American_Choices

8 years agofrom USA

Very well stated. The video is outstanding in scenery and music composition.

It was said that Jefferson gave support readily to both Protestants and Catholics.

We hate only out of fear. If we can feel God's love, we can forgive - all we need is to seek him.

Praise God.

Blessings to you and family.

Al Blondin

8 years agofrom Colorado Springs, Colorado USA

Thanks for your post brother. Nothing is more frustrating to me than the assumption by many so-called thinkers of this age that those of us who believe, do so out of some naïve wishful thinking.

A nice touch to add to your post would be that love within creation is made possible because of the dynamic love relationship inherent in the Holy Trinity.

AUTHOR

Anthony P Acciaioli

8 years agofrom Birmingham, MI

Feel free to comment on this Hub and leave suggestions for future sections. It is brand new as of November 6th, 2010, and I hope to expand it soon!

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